Tis the Season
by AnimationNut
Summary: Phineas forgets to get Isabella a present and drags Ferb along on a mad shopping dash and Candace and Perry get stuck at Jeremy's with evil Suzy thanks to a storm. But everyone discovers that Christmas really is the season for miracles.


**This is a Boris Yeltsin story idea.**

**I do not own Phineas and Ferb.**

**By the way, I made everyone a year older :P So Candace is sixteen, Jeremy is seventeen, Phineas, Baljeet and Isabella are eleven, and Ferb and Buford are twelve.**

**Tis the Season**

Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother Ferb Fletcher stood in their front yard decked out in coats, mittens and Santa hats and surveyed their house. With their parents gone for the afternoon doing some Christmas shopping, Phineas and Ferb were tasked with the decorating of their house. With some persuasion, they got their sister Candace Flynn to help them out with the promise that they would decorate the old-fashioned way.

"Not as fun," Phineas mused. "But it still gets the job done. Although I still think the jet-packs would have been most effective."

Ferb nodded his head in agreement, his mouth covered by a large green scarf. The boys stood in the cold and peered up at the roof where their sixteen year-old sister was positioning the neon-sign that read, 'Welcome Santa!'

It was the only invention of theirs she had allowed to put up. And since it was impossible to carry such a contraption up a ladder and onto the roof, Candace had reluctantly allowed Isabella and the Fireside girls to place the sign on the roof with a squad of helicopters. After that, the girls wished them luck and left, as they had their own Christmas errands to do.

"Are you sure you don't want some help?" Phineas called. "We can get those jet-packs up and running in no time."

Candace glared down at them, two hands gripping the wire and steel contraption. "If you want my help, we're doing this the normal way! You're just lucky I let you call Isabella and have her and her little Firestorm troop air-lift this up here."

"Fireside," Phineas corrected. "I'm surprised they got a helicopter so fast...Isabella has almost as many connections as I do."

Candace fit the sign into place and put her hands on her hips. "How is it?"

Ferb made a picture frame with his fingers and closed one eye. After a moment he flashed a thumbs up sign. Candace let out a sigh of relief. "Good. There was no way I was adjusting this a second time. That thing is heavy..."

"Awesome!" Phineas cheered. "Do you want some help putting the second strand of lights up?"

"No, I'll do it. Just have Ferb pass them up to me."

Ferb grabbed the last box of lights and climbed the steel ladder propped against the side of the house. Phineas rummaged through one of the various boxes littering their snow-covered lawn and found a bunch of light-up plastic candy canes. "Sweet! Pun intended!"

Candace and Ferb rolled their eyes and the redheaded girl carefully went about hooking the lights to the roof. Phineas stuck the candy canes in the cold ground and made sure they were spaced evenly apart. "All done!"

"The lights are all hooked up!" Candace called back and climbed down the ladder. She joined her two brothers on the sidewalk and crossed her arms as the two boys went through their checklist.

"Tree?"

"Up and decorated, but we still have to put the star on top." Candace informed.

"Yeah, we'll do that when Mom and Dad come home. I think we can check that off." Ferb nodded and checked it off.

"Gingerbread house?"

"I think you mean gingerbread city." Candace muttered. "Do you know how long it's going to take to eat that much candy?"

"Not long when Buford finds it." Ferb's muffled voice said as he checked another item off.

"Stockings?"

"Hung and ready."

"Lights?"

"Complete."

"Presents?"

"Wrapped and under the tree."

"Snowmen?"

"They have yet to be constructed."

"Then let's get on it!" Phineas cheered. "Wait, can we test the lights out first?"

"I suppose so, but they won't have much effect in the daytime." Candace informed her eleven-year old brother.

"Let there be light!" Phineas cried, his arms thrown in the air dramatically. Ferb plugged the lights in and Candace arched an eyebrow at the dazzling light of the neon sign.

"Okay, if it's this bright during the day, you're going to blind everyone on the block at night." After a moment she added, "But I totally think it's an awesome addition."

Beaming happily at the compliment, Phineas nodded in satisfaction. "It's awesome! So, are you ready for the snowmen?"

Candace checked her watch. "Actually, I told Jeremy I'd meet him as his house so we could write our letters to Santa." Seeing the expressions on their faces, she hastily explained. "Now that I know Santa exists, I figure it wouldn't hurt to give the guy some ideas. And if Jeremy wants to share, then the easier it'll be to shop for him."

"Whatever you say." Phineas teased. "Will you be back in time for the Christmas concert uptown? The Phineas and the Ferbtones could use another singer."

"I'll try my best. Now, before I go, what did you put on your Christmas list this year?"

Phineas grinned. "Nothing extravagant like delivering presents to all of Danville, I assure you."

"Alright..." Candace eyed her brothers suspiciously for a moment. "If you need anything, I'll be at Jeremy's."

"Hey!" Phineas exclaimed. "Can you take Perry for a walk? I think we'll be too busy with the Christmas festivities to take him out later."

"I guess so." Candace muttered reluctantly. She knew Jeremy would not have a problem if she brought a platypus over, but she did. "I'll see you guys later."

...

"PERRY!"

The shrill cry caused Perry to open one eye in annoyance as the redhead barged into the living room, where he had been sleeping on the couch. He growled in irritation.

"Do you want to go for a walk or not?" Candace demanded, a leash dangling from one hand.

Perry blinked in surprise. It wasn't often that the teenager offered to take him for a walk, and so he was slightly suspicious.

Candace seemed to sense his hesitance. "Aw, it's not like I'm going to dump you in a snow bank or anything. We're just going to Jeremy's house."

Perry glanced at her outstretched arms and hopped into them. Christmas really was a season for miracles.

...

Phineas brushed his mittens off as he stared proudly at his snowman. "Cool! Pun intended!"

Ferb groaned. "Must you always say that?"

"Well, we got everything done on our checklist." Phineas clapped his hands together gleefully. "And all my Christmas shopping is done!"

"I've been meaning to ask; what did you get Isabella?" Ferb asked after he unwound the large scarf from around his neck.

Phineas opened his mouth to answer, and froze. "Uh..." He racked his brain desperately for the answer before saying in panic, "I don't know!"

Ferb arched an eyebrow. "Did you forget to get Isabella a present?"

"I meant to ask Candace for ideas, but she was always busy and then I got caught up in the gingerbread city and-oh man! You gotta help me find Isabella a Christmas present!" Phineas cried, gripping his hat and looking frantically at his brother. "I can't just _not _get her one!"

"She would be very disappointed. I happen to know she is eager to give you your gift."

"Then you have to help me! She's one of my best friends! What should I get her for Christmas?"

"Hanukkah, actually." Ferb corrected. "Isabella celebrates Hanukkah, which starts tomorrow..."

"Eight straight days of presents?" Phineas asked in horror.

"I'm certain she doesn't expect you to give her a present on each day." Ferb assured his stressed-out brother. "But the day is already half-over. If you want to go shopping, we better start now. Are you sure you don't want to just make her something?"

Phineas sighed. "I don't know if I have that kind of time...but maybe if we go to the mall, I'll either find something or get some ideas."

"Alright." The two made their down the cold, frozen sidewalk. After a moment, Ferb said, "I can't believe you forgot to get Isabella a present. I mean, really."

...

About five minutes after the Flynn-Fletcher's departed, Isabella approached the front door and rapped the wood three times. The siblings had not been in the backyard, so she assumed they were continuing their Christmas preparations inside. Her brow furrowed when no one answered and she whipped out her cell phone. After a few rings, a nervous voice answered. "Hey Isabella."

"Hey Phineas! Whatcha doin'?" Isabella asked cheerfully.

"Um...nothing much."

Phineas hardly ever answered with _nothing much_! He was always up to something cool and exciting! "Where are you guys? I was hoping we could go ice-skating or something."

Aw, how romantic that would be! Her and Phineas gliding around the ice holding hands...with Ferb trailing behind...perhaps not quite as romantic.

"We're...just hanging around." A strangled hissing sound came from the other end as Phineas tried to do a poor imitation of static. "I can't...hear...breaking up...see...later!"

Isabella frowned as the ring tone buzzed in her ear. "Did he just use the static trick on me? Oh no he didn't!"

_What's with him? _She thought. Phineas never hung up on her before! A sigh escaped her lips as she looked around at all the snow and sparkling decorations. She certainly didn't want to spend the day alone, and all her girls were off doing their own Christmas traditions with their families.

"This'll be fun..." Isabella thought aloud as she dialled another number. She tugged down her purple wool hat as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hey! Baljeet, it's me, Isabella. Do you want to grab Buford and hang out at the mall or something with me? Great! I'll meet you there."

...

Candace wondered if it was possible for a platypus to glare. Because it seemed that Perry was giving her the death stare... "Oh, come on! You look so cute!"

Perry chattered in what sounded to be an irritated tone. Wearing the little scarf and hat was bad enough, but the little booties? Not cool. If the other agents caught sight of him, he would never hear the end of it. It was a good thing this was his week off...hopefully Doofenshmirtz would stay in Paris with Vanessa for the rest of the holidays.

The two approached the Johnson house and Candace eagerly rang the doorbell. Her blonde boyfriend opened the door and Candace greeted him happily. "Hello, my little Drummer boy!"

"Hello to you too, my little Candy Cane," Jeremy smiled and motioned her inside. The insane desire to giggle rose in Perry's chest and he hastily let out a sneeze. Teenagers were strange creatures...

"Hey buddy!" Jeremy exclaimed as he found the source of the sneeze. "Don't you look cute?"He scooped the platypus up and petted him fondly. "Candace, there's some hot chocolate in the kitchen if you want any."

Candace grinned and pecked Jeremy on the cheek before hurrying into the kitchen. Jeremy waited until his girl had left before gently pulling off Perry's winter accessories. "She means well."

_I know she does...I know she does. _Perry thought tiredly.

...

Phineas and Ferb entered the mall and were immediately knocked aside by dozens of frantic shoppers. "Why is everyone in such a hurry? Christmas is still a few days away!"

"These are what we call late-Christmas shoppers." Ferb explained as the two made their way through the thick crowd. "If you think this is bad, you should see the day-before-Christmas-Eve shoppers."

Phineas let out a sigh and scratched his head as he looked around. "Okay, so what do girls like anyway?" His dark blue eyes scanned the mall and fell upon a hardware store. His face lit up and he asked excitedly, "Think she'll want a screwdriver?"

"Uh..." Ferb drawled in his British accent. "I don't think so."

Phineas rubbed his chin as he thought. "How about a blowtorch? Those are useful."

"...try again."

"Er...a deluxe hammer with a nail set?"

"You know nothing about girls, do you?" Ferb asked teasingly.

"Hey!"

At Phineas' helpless look, he sighed and said, "Think of Candace. What would Candace want for Christmas?"

"But I already got Candace her gift."

"Just do it!" Ferb cried, getting exasperated. This was why he didn't talk much. People could be so exhausting and clueless sometimes.

"Well...I know Candace is a fan of clothes, make-up, smelly perfume and shoes."

"Then buy her a pair of shoes or something."

"But I don't know her shoe size!" Phineas protested. "And besides, doesn't she have, like, ten pairs of shoes in her closet?"

Ferb decided not to ask how Phineas knew this. "When you're a girl, there's no such thing as too many shoes."

"Alright," Phineas agreed hesitantly. "But you better not ditch me to look at those new cleats at the sports store."

...

Candace curled up on the couch with her head resting on Jeremy's shoulder. A contented sigh escaped her lips. Everything was perfect, from the flickering fire to the glowing lights on the Christmas tree.

And then it happened.

"Jeremy!"

The sweet voice sent a jolt of fear down her spine as Candace quickly sat up and stared in horror at the figure skipping towards them. Suzy Johnson beamed at her big brother and leapt into his arms. "Snow!" She giggled happily, and when Jeremy swung her into the air, she shot a quick dark look at the frightened red head.

"Hey, here's my favourite girl!" Jeremy said as he set her down. "Did you say it's snowing?"

Suzy nodded and Jeremy leaned over the couch and pulled apart the curtains. Sure enough, a blizzard swirled around outside and Candace whistled softly. That was a lot of snow...

"Looks like we'll be getting a white Christmas if this keeps up," Jeremy said with a grin.

"Yay!" Suzy cheered.

"I'm going to grab my guitar from upstairs." Jeremy told the two girls. "This is the perfect moment to sing Christmas carols."

He had been gone for barely a second when the smile disappeared from Suzy's face and was replaced by a cruel grin. Her small hands reached out and grabbed the can of whipped cream resting beside the two steaming cups of cocoa. "Wanna play, Candace?"

Candace let out a squeak of terror and held up her hands to defend her face. "Don't do it Suzy, Santa will put you on the Naughty list-!"

Perry peered out from under the couch as he heard Candace's muffled screams. Suzy was attacking her with squirts of whipped cream and Candace trying to fend her off with a throw pillow. Perry felt a bit sorry for one of his owners, but if it was one thing that made him uneasy, it was the evil demon that was Jeremy's sister.

"Okay, are you guys-what happened?" Jeremy exclaimed as he spotted his girlfriend covered in whipped cream.

"Candy had an accident!" Suzy giggled.

Candace knew that Jeremy would never believe the truth, and whispered, "The...can kind of...exploded."

Jeremy helped Candace clean up and then started to strum his guitar. Suzy sang along to the carols and Candace did as well, although her voice was a little shaky. She had grabbed Perry from under the couch and clutched him in her lap. During one of the chorus', she leaned down and hastily whispered in Perry's ear, "If she comes near me the next time Jeremy leaves, bite her!"

...

Phineas stood and gaped at the amount of shoes that he saw. "Okay...now what?"

Ferb arched an eyebrow. "You pick a shoe in her size."

"But I don't know her size!"

Ferb found this hilarious, as Isabella knew almost every little detail about Phineas. "Well, take a guess."

Phineas stared helplessly at the display before him before his dark blue eyes widened in shock. "Who would wear these things?" He cried as he plucked a pair of high heels from the glass shelf. "If you trip, you break your ankle!"

Ferb snickered. "I dare you to try and walk in them."

Never one to back down from a challenge from his brother, Phineas glared and yanked off his boots. He hesitantly slipped on the bubblegum pink heels and teetered around in them. He had only gone three steps before his ankles gave way and he hit the ground hard. "Okay, this is dumb."

"Uh...Phineas?"

The two boys whipped around and found Gretchen staring at them from the store's entrance. The Fireside second-in-command was staring at them oddly over her armful of packages. "Why are you trying on high heels?"

Phineas blushed and hastily yanked the troublesome footwear off his feet. "I...wanted to see what they felt like. And Ferb dared me!"

Gretchen arched an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Shopping for Candace's Christmas present Phineas? Your kind of cutting it last minute, aren't you?"

Ferb smirked. "Isabella, actually."

"Dude!"

Gretchen whistled. "Gee, that's really bad. I'm going to save you the trouble and tell you Bella isn't a shoe person."

"Can you give me any ideas?" Phineas asked eagerly.

"No way, man. This present should be from the heart. You'll find something. But when Christmas is over, I can't wait to tell Bella I caught you walking around in high heels!"

...

"Hungry!" Suzy cried halfway through the newest adaption of A Christmas Carol. Jeremy glanced down at where his sister was perched in his lap.

"But you just had a bowl of popcorn!" Suzy peered up at him with wide eyes and Jeremy sighed. "Alright. Candace, I'm going to get Suzy her applesauce. I'll be right back."

Candace kept her smile up until he entered the kitchen with Suzy glaring at her over his shoulder. Then she scowled and stormed down the hall to the bathroom. "Of course she's hungry. All her popcorn landed in my hair!"

Candace had not been able to focus on the movie, as the little blonde tyrant had been tossing popcorn at her whenever Jeremy wasn't looking. The redhead pulled the pieces from strands of her hair and dropped them in the garbage. "I don't think I can take much more of this...so much for writing letters to Santa."

She shuffled back into the living room and stared at the snowstorm outside. "Great. There is no way I can walk home in this."

Perry chattered by her feet and Candace sighed. "I don't like it either, but I can barely see anything out the window." She picked her phone up from the table and dialled her mother.

"Candace?"

"Hey, Mom. Have you seen the storm outside?"

"I have." Her voice came out a bit static-y. "Where are you?"

"At Jeremy's. I think I'm going to be stuck here until the storm calms down."

"Good. Don't even think about going out in this weather." Linda said sternly. "You father and I may be late coming home. We won't be driving in this weather."

Candace bid her mother goodbye and hung up the phone. Her cell phone trilled again a second after she had hung up. "Hello?"

"Hey Candace!"

"Hey Stace. What's up?"

"Just helping my mom make cookies. Have you seen the storm outside?"

"Yeah. I'm stuck at Jeremy's. I think we've got a real blizzard on our hands."

"Does your mom know?"

"Yeah."

"So...how's Suzy?"

Candace grimaced. Stacy believed her about her brothers, because she had actually seen their contraptions with her own eyes. Suzy, however, was another story. She was pretty sure Stacy was just asking because she was being a good friend. So she decided to fib a bit. "Uh...crying. She doesn't like me, remember?"

"Candace, that's silly."

Candace rolled her eyes and then froze. Something mushy had smacked her in the back of her head. Slowly turning around, she stared into the kitchen and could see Suzy smirking at her from the table with her bowl of applesauce. Jeremy's back was to her.

"I don't think so. She just threw applesauce at my hair. Gross..." Before Stacy could reply, Candace hung up and headed back into the washroom. "I hope Mrs. Johnson doesn't mind if I use her shampoo..."

...

Phineas rushed out of the perfume store, coughing and gagging. His nose was on overdrive as it tried to distinguish one smell from the other. "Too much! Too much!"

Ferb followed after him and wrinkled his nose. "I agree. Let's avoid all body spray stores from this point on, okay?"

Phineas managed to nod and wiped his watering eyes. "Perfume is out. Man, I give up! What _do _girl's like besides perfume and clothes?"

A musical suddenly started and Ferb began to open his mouth. Phineas waved his arms in the air and hollered, "Whoa! Whoa! Cut it out! And Ferb, if you're going to start singing, you better shut your mouth right now."

Ferb obeyed and smiled in amusement. Phineas huffed and stormed towards the food court, mumbling under his breath.

At the food court, Ferb picked at his fries while Phineas slurped thoughtfully at his vanilla milkshake. "Phineas, how do you feel about Isabella?" Ferb asked suddenly.

Phineas blinked in surprise before a red blush crossed his face. "Uh...why does that matter?"

"How you feel about her will impact the kind of gift you get her."

Embarrassed, Phineas swirled his straw around. "Well...I've been having feelings lately."

Ferb arched an eyebrow, wondering if Phineas would admit what he thought he would admit. "Do continue."

"My heart kind of flutters when she touches my hand and when she smiles at me, my stomach feels all weird. I tried asking Candace, but she just giggled and said I would find out eventually."

_Candace apparently does not know how oblivious Phineas can be... _Ferb thought in amusement. "Phineas, it means you like Isabella. As in, more than a friend."

Phineas furrowed his brow before he gasped in revelation. "Whoa. I can't believe I didn't figure that out...yeah. I do like Isabella a lot more than a friend. Do you think she feels the same way about me?"

Ferb hastily ushered his brother towards a random store and told him to go browsing. When the redhead disappeared from his view, the green-haired boy let out a stream of giggles that he could no longer hold back.

...

"It is very busy today." Baljeet noted as he and his two friends, Buford and Isabella, walked through the mall and observed the sparkling lights and glittering decorations.

Buford snorted. "Well, duh nerd. It's almost Christmas."

Isabella turned to grin at him. "Have you done your one great act of kindness yet?"

The big boy smirked back at her. "Not yet, but it worked last year, didn't it?"

"Not really. Clewn't decided that because it was Christmas, you would go on the nice list." Isabella grinned. "Does that bring your spirits down?"

"Nope. And when I get on that nice list, you owe me twenty bucks."

Baljeet rolled his eyes when his two friends shook hands firmly. "As long as I do not get shot out of a cannon again."

...

Phineas and Ferb browsed the sparkling necklaces and bracelets in the glass cases. The owner behind the counter eyed them suspiciously. "Aren't you boys a little young to be shopping for jewellery?"

"Yes, yes we are." Phineas responded as he examined a gold chain with a glittering pink heart. "Ferb, what are we doing here? I can't afford any of this!"

"Perhaps you'll come up with an idea, then." Ferb suggested.

Phineas let out a sigh. His dark blue eyes fell on a simple silver charm bracelet. His mind raced and he grinned broadly. "Ferb! I know what I'm going to do today! Well, I may need some help..."

Ferb smiled. "No need to ask. And I knew you'd think of something."

The two boys rushed out of the store and slammed into two other people. "I'm so sorry!" Phineas exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet.

"Watch where you're going, Dinner Bell." A familiar voice snapped.

"Buford? What are you doing here?" Phineas asked as Ferb helped Baljeet up.

"Just hanging about. What are you two doing here?" Buford retorted.

Before Phineas could answer, Isabella skipped up to her friends. Her eyes lit up and she smiled (which made Phineas' heart pound) and said, "Hey guys! Whatcha doin'?"

"ARGH!" Phineas shouted before tearing off for the mall exit. Ferb blinked before hastily following his brother. Isabella had recoiled in surprise at Phineas' yell and watched as the siblings disappeared. She felt a bit hurt, and Baljeet patted her arm comfortingly.

"I am sure he is just stressed because of the holidays."

"Does Phineas even get stressed?" Buford asked, only recalling the time they had travelled the world in one day and Phineas had a close breakdown when they were trapped on that island.

Isabella glared at Buford before smiling gratefully at Baljeet. "Is it just me, or is Phineas acting weird today?"

"Doesn't he act weird every day?" Buford muttered under his breath. He yelped when Isabella struck him across the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

Isabella glared at him before stalking off. Baljeet snickered and said, "You just got hit by a girl!"

Buford cracked his knuckles. Baljeet yelped in fright and scurried after Isabella. Buford growled and stomped after them.

...

Phineas stood outside the mall, hands on his knees and he panted heavily. Ferb calmly walked up to him. "Smooth."

The redhead glared up at him. "If you ran into your crush at the mall, you'd scream too."

It felt kind of odd to hear Phineas say the word crush, but Ferb felt happy for Isabella. This would no doubt be her best Christmas ever. "Focus, Phineas. You have barely a day to make Isabella her Hanukkah present."

"Well, I have eight days to make eight presents; a day to construct each gift." Phineas corrected.

Ferb arched an eyebrow. "I cannot wait to see this."

...

Candace was scarred for life. Covered in diaper powder and staring in the bathroom mirror, she did not know if she would ever have kids.

During the process of writing their letters to Santa, Suzy started to bawl. Apparently, the four year old was _still _in the process of being toilet trained. She did not know why Suzy was still refusing to use a toilet, and she wondered if it was all part of her act.

When Jeremy had asked her to change Suzy's diaper (even Jeremy had been a bit embarrassed to admit his little sister still wore a diaper) Candace could only squeak a reply. Gingerly carrying a shrieking Suzy up the stairs, Candace placed her on the diaper table and recalled the many times she had watched her mother change Phineas' diaper.

First off, Suzy would not hold still. Then she had grabbed hold of the diaper powder bottle and shook it all over the redhead until she looked like a ghost.

Then...the rest was just too horrible to speak off.

Perry found this all terribly amusing. Candace glowered at him as she scrubbed the powder off her body. She seemed to sense the platypus' amusement. "If I have to clean myself off one more time," she growled, "Then someone is going to get it."

Then the power went out. Candace almost sobbed with despair. Jeremy hollered, "Candace! You okay?"

"Yes..." She managed.

"I'm going downstairs to see if I can fix the fuse and I'm going to take Suzy with me. She's kind of afraid of the dark and only calms down if I'm with her."

Suzy (although she loved every second alone with her brother) felt disappointed of the lost opportunity to scare the wits out of Candace in the dark. So she let out a soft whistle and hoped her poodle would do what she had trained her to do.

Fife the Poodle heard Suzy's ordering whistle and immediately trotted into the living room. Candace's moment of relief was replaced by a shriek of terror. Fife snarled and bent low. She sprung in the air and was about bite Candace's hand when the girl scrambled out of the way at the last second and dashed into the kitchen. Before Fife could attack again, Perry latched onto her tail and yanked her violently backwards. Fife yelped and skittered across the hard wood floor.

Perry growled menacingly at her and positioned himself between the kitchen entryway and the poodle. Fife barked and charged for the annoying platypus in her way.

Now, the poodle had no idea that Perry was a trained agent. Perry lost his mindless pet act and sprang upwards. He kicked Fife to the other side of the room and the dog immediately whimpered in fright at Agent P and scampered away with an injured pride.

Perry became a mindless pet again just as Candace poked her head into the living room. "Oh good...that stupid dog is gone. She didn't bite you or anything, did she Perry?"

Perry chattered. His bond with Candace may not have been as strong as it was with Phineas and Ferb, but he still loved her and cared for her well being. And no pet was allowed to attack her when he was around. Sure, Candace was a pain sometimes, but she showed on multiple occasions she cared for him.

Candace scooped him up and glanced outside. "Perry...the snow stopped! Oh my gosh! We can go home!"

Just as said this Jeremy came back upstairs with Suzy in his arms. "The fuse is busted. Hey, the storm stopped!"

"Yeah...I better get back before it starts up again. Who knows what my brothers have been up too? I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to finish our letters..."

Jeremy smiled gently at her. "That's alright. I'm just glad I got to spend time with you."

Candace blushed. "Aw, same!" And she leaned forward and pecked her boyfriend on the lips. "I'll see you later!" She giggled, waving to him and grabbing her coat and hurrying out the door.

Suzy glared death at her until she disappeared out the door.

...

Ferb watched as Phineas tinkered with the materials on his tool bench. Since it was too cold outside, the boys relocated their projects to the garage until warmer weather started up. Metal scraps and a blowtorch lay by his side as Phineas glued something into place.

Ferb was rather impressed with what his brother had come up with, and was pleased. Isabella would be very happy. Although he had to make sure Phineas knew what he was doing.

"_Are you sure you want to be so forward so soon?"_ He had asked, knowing that Isabella would be delighted, but then broken-hearted if Phineas changed his mind later. They may have been made for each other, but they were only ten.

"_I'm sure." _Phineas had replied confidently. His eyes glowed with excitement, and also some anxiousness. Ferb decided to keep his brother in the dark about Isabella's feelings. It would be hilarious to see his and Bella's reaction.

And so he stood by and watched Phineas tinker and waited until his brother needed his assistance.

A familiar shriek came from the front yard. Deciding that Phineas would not need him now, he left to check out what Candace was up too.

He arched an eyebrow as he watched Candace twirl around the front yard, kicking up snow and dancing with their platypus. "We're home! We're home!" She sang gleefully.

"Rough day?" Ferb questioned.

Candace noticed she had an audience and hastily stopped. "You have no idea. Where's Phineas?"

"Making Isabella her gift."

"Isn't he a little late?"

"Yes. Yes he is." He filled Candace in and the girl snorted.

"Geez. It's about time. Isabella will definitely be pleased."

_Yes. Yes she will. _Perry thought and quelled a smirk. _Christmas is the season for miracles._

...

Isabella propped her chin in her hands and sighed heavily. Baljeet was across the carpeted aisle in the music section with a pair of headphones over his ears. The teen was jamming the demo music that was streaming through. Buford was beside her, browsing the movies.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked gruffly.

"Phineas...he's up to something!"

"So...because he screamed in your face and took off, you think he's up to something?" Buford asked with a raised eyebrow.

Isabella glared at him. "He never runs away from me!"

A dozen of teasing retorts came to his mind, but he knew Isabella would lay him a good one. "Dinner Bell is fine. Like Jeet said, it's just the stress of the holidays."

Isabella sighed once more. Her gaze drifted towards the large candy cane that hung from the metal beams above the music section. Her eyes widened as she noticed the fraying ropes beginning to give way. "Oh my gosh! BALJEET! MOVE!"

But the boy did not hear her. The ropes snapped and the candy cane careened right for the teen. Isabella shrieked as it crashed, knocking over cases and scattering CD's everyone. People gasped and moved backwards and the store owner groaned and rushed over. Isabella raced over and cried, "Baljeet! Baljeet, speak to me!"

"Ha-ha-ha!"

Anger welled up in Isabella's chest as Buford's laugh echoed in the shocked silence. "Buford Van Stomm, this is not funny! Baljeet could be-"Her angry lecture died after she whirled around and noticed a smirking Buford holding a stunned Baljeet under one arm.

"Baljeet," Isabella breathed in relief. "Buford, how did you move so fast?"

"I like playing football." He replied. With a grin, he propped a shaking Baljeet on his feet. "So nerd, is everything intact?"

"Y-Yes...thank you Buford." Baljeet stuttered. "D-Do you have to b-be my slave a-again?"

"Nah. Consider it an early Christmas gift."

Baljeet smiled and Isabella shook her head. "Dang..."

"What? Did you want me to be crushed by that perilous cardboard decoration?" Baljeet asked with hurt in his voice.

"Oh, no!" Isabella exclaimed. "Of course not! I just said dang because I now owe Buford twenty bucks..."

Buford looked confused for a moment before grinning. "Aw yeah! My one great act of selflessness! You better pay up, Isabella."

The girl snorted. "You'll get the money when I see presents from Santa. Come on, the storm stopped. Let's get home before we get snowed in."

...

_On the first day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

Isabella opened her mailbox and found a small, brightly wrapped gift with her name on it. Her eyes lit up, but she frowned in confusion when she didn't find a tag saying who it was from. She decided not to open it until her family gathered for present and the lighting of the menorah.

When the time for opening presents came, Isabella opened the small gift and gasped. A silver chain rested on white tissue paper. Orange and pink transparent beads went all around the chain. And hanging on a small hook, was a beautifully engraved letter_ I_ with a thin silver border. The magical part was that inside the border, the colour of the paint changed and swirled.

It was magnificent.

_But who is it from?_

...

_On the second day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

Isabella eagerly tore open an identical looking package the next night and found the letter _L_ this time. She was not sure what the letters were supposed to spell, so she left it off her charm bracelet for now.

"Who is this lovely gift from, Isabella?" Her mother questioned, noticing the pretty charm.

"I'm not sure...but I'll find out."

...

_On the third day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

The letter _O_... Isabella laid the letters out and scratched her head. Perhaps she would know when she got a few more letters.

...

_On the fourth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

Isabella pressed her palm to her mouth and stared at the beautiful letter _V_. It couldn't be...could it?

_A few more days... _Isabella thought. _Just a few more days..._

...

_On the fifth, sixth and seventh days of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

Isabella grinned broadly as she examined her charm bracelet. She was almost certain she knew what the words were going to spell, but she hoped desperately that it was from the person she thought it was from.

Phineas had been avoiding her for the past few days...and it explained his behaviour at the mall.

_Oh please, let it be Phineas!_

...

_On the eighth day of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me..._

It was the last day of Hanukkah, and when Phineas did not exchange presents with her like they normally did, she grew eager. Phineas had accepted her gift and thanked her with a slight blush on his cheeks. But then Buford ruined the moment by demanding his twenty bucks as he thrust a present from Santa addressed to him in her face...

_I'll find out tonight..._she thought as she looked out her window at the falling snow.

...

Evening fell and Phineas gulped nervously as he went across the street with the small package in his hands. He saw Isabella's grin when he did not hand her a present, and he figured she now had a guess at who was leaving her the charms. He just hoped she returned his feelings.

Phineas was not aware that he had an audience. Ferb and Candace were crouching in the bushes that were next to the Garcia-Shapiro's porch. Over the course of the past few days, Ferb had informed Buford and Baljeet of Phineas' plan and the two boys seemed to have the same idea as he and Candace.

Candace and Ferb decided to take Perry with them at the last minute. It didn't seem fair to exclude the family pet.

Candace held Perry in her arms as the group waited silently. This was a moment they had all been waiting for. When Phineas discovered his true feelings for Isabella and overcame his obliviousness. Well, the last part he still had, since he hadn't clued in to the fact that Isabella whole-heartedly returned his feelings, but still. A big improvement had been made.

Phineas rang the doorbell and waited nervously. The door swung open and Isabella looked at him in delight. "Oh Phineas! I knew it!"

Phineas grinned. "Happy Hanukkah, Bella." He handed her the last charm and she eagerly tore the packaging off. She attached the last charm to her bracelet and stared at the completed bracelet, with glowing letters that read, _I Love You._

She proclaimed, "I love you too!"

The two embraced on the porch. Isabella then glanced up and said coyly, "Phineas...we're standing under the mistletoe."

Phineas turned red. "Oh...yeah, we are."

Isabella thought this was adorable, and did something she wanted to do for as long as she could remember. She kissed him.

Buford opened his mouth to express his disgust at the display of mushy-ness, but two hands clamped over his mouth. He was tugged away as the group hastily decided that the two should have their privacy.

Christmas really was a season for miracles.

**So, I took a guess at Suzy's age. I'm sure she's actually supposed to be older, but this is fanfiction, after all. **

**It took forever to write this...but I had fun :)**

**Merry Christmas everyone :D**

**BTW; if I could draw, I would draw that bracelet Phineas gave Isabella. But since I can't draw to save my life, anyone who wants to draw it is welcome to do so. Just PM me when it's finished if you do ;)**


End file.
